# Gayle (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/gayle/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ɡeɪl/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Gail |
| US babies named this | 66,308 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 4,951 / 61,357 (93% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 9, 1996 to 2025 |

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 7 | 14,417 |
| 2008 | 15 | 8,262 |
| 2009 | 11 | 10,211 |
| 2010 | 7 | 13,961 |
| 2011 | 6 | 15,474 |
| 2012 | 5 | 17,771 |
| 2014 | 7 | 13,545 |
| 2016 | 9 | 11,168 |
| 2017 | 11 | 9,533 |
| 2018 | 7 | 12,930 |
| 2019 | 5 | 16,368 |
| 2021 | 6 | 14,072 |
| 2022 | 10 | 9,944 |
| 2023 | 8 | 11,540 |
| 2024 | 6 | 14,052 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 20 | 1,884 |
| 1970 | 17 | 2,235 |
| 1971 | 15 | 2,489 |
| 1972 | 16 | 2,360 |
| 1973 | 17 | 2,348 |
| 1974 | 9 | 3,656 |
| 1975 | 9 | 3,749 |
| 1976 | 11 | 3,348 |
| 1977 | 16 | 2,700 |
| 1979 | 9 | 4,185 |
| 1981 | 10 | 3,945 |
| 1984 | 7 | 5,164 |
| 1985 | 11 | 3,890 |
| 1986 | 9 | 4,600 |
| 1989 | 7 | 6,462 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 9 | 1,755 |

## People named Gayle

- Gayle Rubin, American cultural anthropologist, activist, and feminist
- Gayle Hunnicutt, American actress (1943–2023)
- Gayle Forman, American young-adult fiction author
- Gayle King, American television personality, author and broadcast journalist for CBS News
- Gayle McCormick, American singer (1948–2016)
- Gayle Moran, American vocalist, keyboardist and songwriter
- Robin Wright, American actress
- Julie London, American actress and singer (1926-2000)
- Mindy McCready, American country music singer (1975–2013)
- Kandace Krueger, American beauty pageant contestant

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.